Inspiration
As a professional who’d navigated stressful salary negotiations without hard data, I saw a gap: too many of us guess at fair pay instead of knowing it. I wanted to build a tool that turns vague "market rates" into concrete, verified numbers—rooted in real H1B disclosures, LinkedIn Salary data, and anonymous professional submissions.
What it does
SalaryBenchmark lets users input their job title, city, and experience to get instant tiered salary ranges (low/median/high) with confidence scores. Free users get 1-year trend charts; premium ($19/month) unlocks diversity breakdowns, 3-year trends, negotiation scripts, and PDF exports.
How we built it
I started by aggregating trusted salary data sources, then built a React frontend for mobile-first form submission and responsive data visualization. Backend with Node.js/SQL handled data logic, Stripe integrated payment processing, and Chart.js powered visual comparisons. I prioritized clear UX to make complex data accessible.
Challenges we ran into
Sourcing enough granular data for niche roles/locations was tough—we added prompts for broader search parameters to address gaps. Form validation edge cases (e.g., extreme experience values) required iterative testing, and PDF export reliability took multiple tweaks to ensure consistent formatting.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Creating a tool that balances accessibility (no login for free use) with premium value—users get actionable data in <2 seconds. The negotiation generator, which tailors salary recommendations to individual profiles, has been called "game-changing" by early testers.
What we learned
I deepened my skills in data aggregation and user-centric design—learning to prioritize transparency (labeling all data sources) over flashy features. I also realized how critical mobile optimization is: 70% of early users accessed the tool on phones.
What's next for this project
We’ll expand data filters to include industry/company size, add saved searches (no accounts yet, but cookie-based persistence), and integrate more regional salary datasets to cover more European and U.S. cities. We’re also testing a simplified negotiation script builder for entry-level professionals.
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